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Year 6

Developing background knowledge about 'London' by William Blake

I can understand the poem and the context in which the poem was written.

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New
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Year 6

Developing background knowledge about 'London' by William Blake

I can understand the poem and the context in which the poem was written.

Download all resources
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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. 'London' was published in 1794.
  2. William Blake was an English poet and artist who believed in social and racial equality.
  3. In the poem, the narrator is describing a walk around the city of London.
  4. Romanticism was a movement in art and literature.
  5. Romantic poets were often critical of industrialisation and valued the simplicity and purity of rural life.

Keywords

  • The Industrial Revolution - a period when machines and factories changed the way people lived and worked in cities

  • Context - the setting or background that helps us to understand something better

  • Society - a group of people living together, sharing customs and ways of living

  • Romanticism - a movement in art and literature in the 18th and 19th century, which focused more on feelings, imagination and nature

Common misconception

There is archaic and unfamiliar language that pupils will not recognise or understand in the poem.

Explain to pupils that it is normal to not understand all the language in an archaic text, especially when we first read it. That is OK. There will be lots of opportunities to build our understanding.

Use my turn your turn to support the children's pronunciation of unfamiliar vocabulary. You can also use echo reading to support children who may find it challenging to read it independently.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? A poem is a piece of writing that uses creative and rhythmic language to express thoughts, feelings, or ideas, often with a specific structure or pattern.
Correct Answer: true, True
Q2.
True or false? A poem can only have one theme.
Correct Answer: false, False
Q3.
What is a poet responsible for when creating a poem?
introducing and inviting different speakers to the debate
creating the pictures, drawings, or images that connect to the poem
Correct answer: crafting the words that make up a poem
Q4.
What is the most appropriate definition of a simile?
Correct answer: a way of comparing two things using 'like' or 'as', highlighting similarities
the similarity of sounds between the ending syllables of words
a single line or a group of lines within a poem
Q5.
What is the most appropriate definition of a metaphor?
the repeated use of sounds, words, phrases or structural elements
the feeling or mood created in a section or whole of a text
Correct answer: a way of describing and comparing something by saying that it is something else
Q6.
What is a 'verse' in poetry?
a way of describing a non-living thing as if it acts or feels like a human
Correct answer: a single line or a group of lines within a poem
the feeling or mood created in a section or whole of a text

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
‘London’ is a poem written by ...
Correct Answer: William Blake, william blake, William blake, william Blake, Blake
Q2.
Select the statements that are true.
Correct answer: William Blake was born in 1757 in England.
Correct answer: Blake’s poems are still read and loved by lots of people around the world.
William Blake was also a singer and an actor.
William Blake lived during the Victorian era.
Q3.
Match the keywords to their definitions.
Correct Answer:the Industrial Revolution,a period when machines and factories changed the way people lived.

a period when machines and factories changed the way people lived.

Correct Answer:context,the setting or background that helps us to understand something better

the setting or background that helps us to understand something better

Correct Answer:society,a group of people living together, sharing customs and ways of living

a group of people living together, sharing customs and ways of living

Correct Answer:Romanticism,a movement in art and literature in the 18th and 19th century

a movement in art and literature in the 18th and 19th century

Q4.
True or false? There are four verses in the poem 'London'.
Correct Answer: true, True
Q5.
Put the subjects of the verses in the correct order.
1 - The speaker walks through the streets of London and sees suffering everywhere.
2 - The speaker hears the sounds of misery all around.
3 - The speaker describes miserable sights in the city, including a darkened church.
4 - The speaker is walking at midnight and hears cursing.
Q6.
True or false? Romantic poets were in favour of industrialisation.
Correct Answer: false, False

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